


Daniel's Civil War

by Debi_C



Series: Tok'ra Flats [7]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, Horses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-20
Updated: 2012-07-20
Packaged: 2017-11-10 08:03:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/464036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debi_C/pseuds/Debi_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty HI HO Coyote Away! In the early days, Jack O’’Neill with his faithful Indian scout companion, Waya, the daring and resourceful sheriff of Tok’’ra Flats led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, as The Riders of Tok’’ra Flats ride again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daniel's Civil War

Preamble  
Daniel’s birthday party at Snugbury's Ice Cream Parlor was over. Everyone there had a really good time, all the cake and ice cream was eaten, remarked about and thoroughly enjoyed. Daniel had gotten presents, serious, silly and sweet. He'd spent the whole time in a hot pink blush much to everyone's delight.

But it was late evening now and he and Jack O'Neill, the sheriff, were on their way back to their rooms at the Emerald City Saloon. The Mayor, Louigi and Doctor Janet had been conspicuously absent from the party and the two men wondered what had happened to prevent their coming.

As they arrived, Doctor Janet Fraiser was headed out the door of the saloon.

"Hey, Doc. What's going on?" Jack asked concernedly.

She brushed the hair out of her face and answered him with a grimace. "Louigi fell off the step ladder this afternoon and knocked himself out cold. Luckily it's not too serious, just some stitches,a concussion and a bad headache." She shook her head. "We've put him to bed and he's sleeping now."

"Well, at least he's not hurt bad." O’Neill commented.

"Yes, at least that much." the Doctor agreed as she hefted her bag to a more comfortable grip. "Oh, and Daniel, Debi wants to see you. She's in the kitchen."

"Oh, okay." He looked over at Jack.

The sheriff smiled at him. “Well, Danny, why don’t you go on in and see her.” He reached for the diminuative woman’s bag. “I’ll walk the Doctor home. Make sure she doesn’t get lost in the dark.

“Well, okay.” He smiled and nodded at their friend and stepped up into the saloon’s darkened dance hall. “I’m sure I won’t be long.”

"Take your time, Danny." the sheriff grinned back down at him.

Daniel made his way into the kitchen where he found the Mayor seated at the table drinking a cup of coffee. "Hello, Miz Debi."

"Hi, youself, Daniel. I'm sorry I missed your party this afternoon." She said, leaning back in the chair she was relaxing in.

"I'm glad Louigi is going to be all right." He answered getting himself a cup of coffee and sitting down at the table with her.

"Yeah, me too." The Mayor shook her head. "That's boy's gonna give me apoplexy one day."

"Jack says the same thing about me." Daniel nodded.

Debi smiled at his words. "And that's the truth. I've seen him come pretty close to it myself." She reached under the table and brought out a brightly wrapped package about 12 inches by 10 inches and 2 inches thick. "I did want to give you your present though, even if I missed the hoorah."

Daniel shook his head at the package, "You didn't need..."

"Oh, I know I didn't need too, but take my word on this, Daniel. You'll like this and it's probably just as well you didn't get it in a big crowd of people." She smiled at his with a twinkle. "I was gonna give it to you private like anyway." Debi put the package down on the table and slid it over to him.

Daniel looked at her mystified and pulled it over to him. "It's heavy." He commented as he unwrapped a large leather bound tome. "Oh, it's a book."

"Look at it close, Danny." The woman remarked to him. "And let me tell you a little something about it." As his blue eyes met hers, she smiled at him. "Back a few years ago, an old codger named Nicholas Ballard came through town. Said he was hunting some place he’d been before and wanted to find again. We all thought he was a little loco because he kept talking about skulls and temples and such. Seems he was wanting to become famous and respected again.” She shrugged. “Well, he needed a grubstake and I offered to buy his books to help him along. He didn't want to sell this one in particular but he needed the money." She paused in her story, and took another sip of coffee. "Then Ranger Mike came to visit and told us how he had found you. He mentioned the bible with your folk’s names in it and where you were born and all; it set me to thinking. I dug around in the lending library and sure enough, I was right." She motioned to him. "Open the book, Daniel."

Daniel did as he was told and on the frontispiece there was a reproduction of a tinetype picture of the book's authors. It was of a young family standing in front of the pyramids of Egypt. There was a man of slender build, dark haired, and handsome. A pretty young woman, fair haired and wearing spectacles, was standing next to him. In the woman's arms, she held a toddler about two years of age. He was very fair and blond. Underneath the picture were written the names, Melbourne and Claire Jackson and their son Daniel.

The young deputy looked up at the woman seated next to him. "But this...this can't be..." he said in amazement.

Debi looked at him in amusement. "Why not? The dates are correct. The names are all right and according to that old bible Mike found, you were born in Egypt." She shrugged. "They were what are called archaeologists. They studied the past, looked at old tombs, ancient cities and learned things from the long ago times.

Daniel looked up at her with wide blue eyes behind his specs. "But that means..."

"That means that this here is the earliest picture of one Daniel Jackson, a deputy of Tok'ra Flats. He was a right cute little feller." She took another sip of coffee. "In fact, he looks an awful lot like someone I know."

Daniel flipped carefully through the pages of the book. There was one more picture of the child in its pages. The little boy, maybe a year older, was sitting up high on the back of a dromedary camel wearing a traditional costume. "Wait, I remember this I think……maybe." He grinned at her over his spectacles. "Or maybe I just want it to be."

"Well, at that age, I'd expect you to remember it.

"But..."

"Now Daniel, don't argue with your elders." She put the cup down.

"Its past my bedtime. Louigi took a good five years off me today and I'm tired." Debi got up from her chair and kissed him on the forehead. "Happy birthday, Daniel. May you have many, many more."

He looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you, Ma'm. And you're invited to every one."

She nodded with a tired smile. “I’ll try to do better next year, but right now, I’m going to bed.”

Chapter 1 The Long Journey

The next afternoon Sheriff O’Neill and Ranger Burell entered the cool dark recesses of the Emerald City saloon. Jack and Mike had done the morning rounds together, enjoying the cool morning breezes, the walk and the companionship. The sheriff’s half grown pup had followed them in their steps and he had gamboled and played the entire time. The two men had reminisced about adventures they had shared and told about those they hadn’t.

One of the main subjects that had been discussed was their mutual friend, Daniel Jackson. They had both played important roles in the young man’s existence, affecting the direction of his life’s path. Mike Burell had helped save the boy’s life years ago, by giving him up to the Cherokees to raise after he had been found close to his murdered parents.

Jack O’Neill had found him living with the Indians and reintroduced him to his white heritage. This had led the young man to travel west to the small frontier town of Tok’ra Flats with his friend where they lived now.

Entering the dancehall portion of the saloon, they found the object of their discussion sitting at a large round card table. Daniel was deeply engrossed in a large leather bound book. Their friend, the saloon owner, had presented him with the tome as a birthday gift, and he had been fascinated with the volume ever since.

The two men went over to the large pot-bellied stove by the wall and helped themselves to the ever-present coffeepot that sat there warming itself on the iron surface. Then a quick step to the sidebar revealed some sugar iced cinnamon rolls, biscuits and molasses. The men helped themselves to the snack and joined their young compadre. Dollar trotted over to where the younger man was sitting and flopped down under the table.

“Whatchadoin Daniel?” Sheriff O’Neill pulled out the chair next to the young man and sat down. The retired Texas Ranger did the same.

Daniel looked up at his friends with a smile. “I’m reading this book that Miz Debi gave me.”

“What’s the book about, Jun’ge?” Mike asked over his coffee cup

“Well,” Daniel carefully put a strip of cloth between the pages and closed it so his could show them the cover. “It’s about studying ancient Egypt, learning bout the culture and how it affects our civilization.” He turned it so they could see the title. Jack gently took the book that had fascinated his friend and carefully examined it. Mike read the title from across the table. “The Land Of The Pharaohs by Melbourne Jackson.” He looked up in surprise at Daniel. “That's the name in your bible.”

“Yes, it is.” The young man nodded eagerly. “I think it may be my father who wrote this book. Look." He leaned over closer to Jack and opened the cover to the frontispiece. After the flyleaf, introduction and table of content pages, there was a reproduction of a tintype of a young family. A handsome dark-haired man and an attractive blonde woman were in a formal pose, the man sitting in a high back Victorian chair and the woman standing at his side. In the man’s lap sat a boy-child of about three years of age. The photograph had captured their faces and expressions perfectly. Arching eyebrows, round cheeks and dimples were quite evident in the toddler’s face and were a perfect match for the man sitting next to them.

“Yah, Daniel, that is you.” Mike commented confidently. “Not much to doubt about that there.”

Jack looked at the picture critically, “Cute kid. What happened?” he commented teasingly.

Mike looked at his friend. “He grew up to be a handsome man, and you know that well, Jack O'Neill.”

Daniel ducked his head and blushed. The men laughed warmly as his embarrassed reaction. “Yep, probably wouldn’t have to ask much of a dowry for him at that.” Jack commented as he sipped his coffee.

The younger man scowled at his fondly smiling tormentor. “A dowry is for young ladies...even I, an uneducated heathen knows that.” He stood, picking up the book to take it with him. “If you’re only going to pick on me, I’ll go over to the mission and offer my linguistic skills to the other O’Neill and see if he’s any more appreciative of my help. Meanwhile, I’ll take my book back upstairs to get it out of a little bit of harms way.” He reached down and scratched the little dog behind his ears.

Dollar, the gray pup, looked up from one master to the other with his wolfish yellow eyes and then yawned prodigiously with a little whine. He’d had a good bit of exercise this morning and he was too tired to care if they were fussing or not. He just wanted to find a nice warm patch of sunshine and take his morning beauty nap.

O’Neill nodded. “Yeah, Joe had mentioned something about a new village settling several miles away from the mission. I know he wants to make contact with the village headman, but he doesn’t know their lingo.” He looked at his friend, “You gonna go over and try to palaver with them?”

“Yes, I need to see if it’s any language I know, and if not...well, I’ll guess I’ll just have to learn another one.” As he turned to head up the stairs, he called back to the two lawmen. “Oh, I may take Cassie with me. She’s been wanting to go exploring and brown pony needs a little light exercise.’

The sheriff nodded. Cassie Fraiser had mentioned a desire to go for a ride but that her ma, Doc Fraiser, wouldn’t allow her to go off by herself. But Janet knew her teenaged young lady would be safe with her friend and the faithful old Indian pony.

“Then, you’d better be back early this afternoon. Doc will send the hounds out after you if you keep that girl out too late.” He smiled to take the sting out of his words.

The Deputy nodded in agreement. “We’ll be back before the long shadows fall.” Then he turned and trotted up the stairs with his precious book.

\-------

Sheriff Jack O’Neill was worried. It was now nigh on to six o’clock and there was still no sign of his Deputy Daniel Jackson and Cassie Fraiser. They had left early this morning riding out on a visit to Mission San Patricio and the two young people were now several hours late. Doc Fraiser had already come looking for her daughter earlier and he’d had to report that the pair hadn’t been seen since then.

Normally, Jack wouldn’t have been concerned, even after the protective mama’s visit. Daniel was an experienced frontiersman and knew how to handle just about any emergency. But Danny, himself, had promised to be back by late afternoon. It was now rapidly turning into dusk. So, Jack had determined to ride out to meet them, just to ease everyone’s minds... particularly his own. O’Neill had saddled his blue roan Appaloosa, Hawk, and was letting the big horse set his own pace of a long striding, ground eating trot.

He arrived at the mission just at sundown. The older Indian children who lived at the mission were just closing the mesquite pole gates to the compound as he rode up. At their enthusiastic greeting, Father Joe O’Neill came out of the sanctuary to greet his kinsman. “Hola, Jacko. To what do we owe this rare honor of your presence?”

“Howdy to you too, Joe. I’m looking for my pair of lost lambs.” He swung off the big horse and grasped the hand his brother the priest offered to him. “Have you seen Daniel and Cassie Fraiser?”

Joe looked at his older brother in surprise. “Why, yes. But it’s been several hours ago.” He developed an identical frown as the one Jack was wearing. “He was trying to help me understand the tribal headman from our new neighbors that set up their village just a few miles from here. They had finally started to make some communication headway, when a runner came in from the camp. Daniel and Cassie decided to go back with them to learn more about them. But that was oh, three o’clock this afternoon.” He shook his head in realization of how late it was.

“How far away is this village, Joe?”

“Oh, at least several miles back up along the river.” The priest looked at his brother in concern. “Why don’t you stay the night here and get an early start of it?”

Jack shook his head, not at all pleased with this new information. “No, thanks Joe. I think I’ll head on out and try to find them before it gets too late.” He looked at the other man curiously. “Just what kind of Indians are these anyway?”

“Well, Jack, as you know, I’m not too familiar with the various tribes from down here...but I think they are called Tonkawa.”

Jack knew that name but couldn't put it with any knowledge right away. He frowned in concentration. Joe watched him in concern.

"What's wrong with ya, Jacko? Ya look like a bee stung you."

"I'm trying to remember, Joe. There was a tribe along the gulf swamps called the Tonkawa.” He shook his head, disparagingly, “but there was something unusual about them." Jack sighed. "I've never met any of them, though you say Daniel spoke some of their words?"

"Ay, that he did, but the boy speaks so many tongues, and he was using some Spanish in there also."

Jack replied, "A lot of Texicans speak a bit of Spanish, both white and red." He glanced back at the gate that was waiting open for him. "You say they are up the river from here?" The priest nodded. "I'll see if I can't find their camp before dark."

"Very well then, Jacko. I'll not be holding you here, as I know you're anxious to go.” The two brothers shared a look and a handshake. Jack swung up on his horse and picked up the reins. The Appaloosa spun around on his haunches and headed out the gate at a fast trot.

As he headed away from the mission, O'Neill heard the sound of unshod hooves following. It was Young Bull, one of the older Anasazi boys, on a small strawberry roan mare. He shifted his weight in the saddle and Hawk slowed to a walk.

"Ho, O'Neill." the boy called out as he came abreast of him.

"Ho, Young Bull."

"I would come with you to search for my friend Dan-yell."

"Does your Padre approve?" Jack asked. He didn't want the young man to do anything against the mission rules."

"Yes, O'Neill, the Padre said I should go with you.” The young man sat up straight on his mount. “I am a warrior now, and I can be of use in tracking my spirit's- friend."

O'Neill nodded. He couldn't refuse the youngster outright without the boy losing face and he very well could be helpful. "Come on then, we're burning daylight."

As they rode along the river, occasionally they could see the signs of passage of two other horses. They stopped for a while to water the horses and Jack dismounted to stretch his lame knee. He looked at the youngster. “Do you know anything about these Indians Young Bull?”

The young brave looked at Jack seriously. "They were big people, O'Neill, tall and strong, as big as Dan-yell and with long bows. But they were not from these mountains.”

Jack had a niggling suspicion in the back of his mind. "What clothing did they wear? Hides, robes or cloth like the Cherokee?"

The young brave smiled as if at a joke, "Nothing."

"Nothing?" The sheriff looked surprised.

“Yes, the men only wore clouts and the two youngsters who traveled with their elders wore nothing at all.” He shook his head. “Padre Joe says they must learn, or they will get very cold this winter.”

Jack nodded at the boy. “I should think so, Young Bull. And winter is coming on pretty quick here in these hills.”

\-------

It was nearly sundown when Sheriff O'Neill and Young Bull rode slowly into the deserted village. The huts, such as they were appeared primitive by design; using small saplings bent over and tied together then woven with more branches. They would protect from sun and some rain, but certainly not the winter winds and snow. These people were foreign, alien to their surroundings, unused to the natural world they found themselves in. They would be needing help to survive the winter.

As the two men rode between the wickiups, they looked for signs of habitation. But there were none. No people, No horses, no dogs, not even a cooking fire smoldering. There were no birds singing or insects sounding in the brush either. It lent an eerie pall over the small village.

Jack looked around uneasily. There was definitely something very wrong here. He motioned Young Bull to stick close to him as they continued on into the center of camp. There was still no sign of life, but they were beginning to be aware of an unpleasant odor hanging over the camp.

Then, when they reached the fire circle, they began to see bodies lying in the paths between the wickiups. O'Neill signaled Young Bull to stay on his pony, and slipped out of Hawk's saddle. He walked past the burned out fire pit, passing two dead men close to the circle and went over to the large central hut. There was a telltale odor already hanging near the hut. Gingerly, he pushed the openings cover. A swarm of flies buzzed around the dead body of a naked Indian woman. She was in a protective posture, lying over a small infant. She had obviously died trying to save her baby from someone. He glanced over at Young Bull. The boy's eyes were as big as saucers. Mission raised, the boy was as shocked as any civilized youngster would be at such human carnage.

Jack let the cloth drop back into place. His heart was pounding and one thing kept running in circles through his head, like a cow on locoweed. 'Where the hell were Daniel and Cassi?'

Jack turned back to the young boy and handed him Hawk's reins. "Young Bull, take the horses over to the creek and water them. I need to poke around here a bit and see what happened." He looked at the boy’s face. His dark brown skin tone had turned a waxy shade under its pigment. He figured the young man had probably never seen a man dead by violence before. Padre Joe didn't let much of that sort of thing happen around his mission. He wanted to let the boy regain his composure so that he wouldn’t be shamed in front of him.

Going back to the man closest to the fire, he rolled the body over. The brave was newly dead and didn't smell too bad yet. He had been shot by a rifle, killed with the white man’s weapon, but who had done it wasn’t clear to the Sheriff yet and he hated mysteries.

Young Bull returned with the horses after a short period. The boy was now recovered from the shock and wearing his warrior’s face. The two continued to search through the camp, looking for any survivors. As they rode in between the huts, more bodies were revealed to them. Some were in poses of fleeing, some in defensive positions with their primitive bows and lances. They found no one alive.

It was obvious that it had been a surprise attack. Alongside the people were carcasses of dogs and occasionally a horse. There was still no sign of Daniel or Cassie.

Jack and Young Bull also looked for indications of who the attackers might have been. There were hoof prints made by shod horses, indicating that it was probably white men. But why would anyone attack a peaceful village? Theses people had nothing of value, no gold or even many possessions. They appeared to be too primitive to be a danger to anyone.

As they continued through the village, Jack noticed there were very few bodies of children. There were apparently none of any adolescents and toddlers. There were a few teenaged boys with weapons who had probably been fighting with the warriors, but that was it.

Hawk suddenly raised his head and snorted, alerting his human to someone coming. Jack immediately drew his pistol and waved Young Bull in closer behind him.

O’Neill’s Appaloosa nickered softly looking intently at a brushy thicket a few yards away along the riverbank. From within the trees a dark horse’s head appeared. Old Brown Pony limped out into view favoring his left hind leg.

O’Neill let Hawk trot over to his buddy and then dismounted to examine the old horse. As he stepped around to the Mustang’s side, he could see a still oozing bullet wound in the animal’s haunch.

“Well, Pony,” Jack murmured as he stroked the brown neck. “Looks like Danny got you into a scrape. Where’s your running buddy, Feather?” He didn’t see Daniel’s paint horse anywhere around.

The old horse could only rub his head on the Sheriff’s shoulder. Jack absent-mindedly pulled a peppermint candy out of his pocket. Brown Pony crunched it with a sigh. He knew that Jack would take care of things now.

The Sheriff looked back at Young Bull. “At least now, we know they were here.”

The young Indian looked at him questioningly. The sheriff continued talking, thinking aloud. “We’ve got a village that’s been attacked. Danny, Cassie and most of the kids are missing. Here’s one horse wounded and missing another.” He nodded at the animal, “Danny wouldn't just leave this old horse unless he had something else more important going on.”

Young Bull rode his pony over and nodded in agreement. He knew his friend was a brave warrior and would fight to defend the helpless ones. “Dan-yell would protect the girl and the young ones, if he could.”

“I think so too.” O’Neill said with a frown. “He had a rifle, a pistol and a knife. He would have put up a fuss.”

“And when Dan-yell fights there are always bodies of his enemies.”

Jack nodded in agreement. “Brown Pony came from this direction.” He indicated the thicket, “We’ll probably find more sign back there.”

The two men followed the tracks of the wounded horse back through the scrub brush that ran along the banks of the Rio De Nada. There were signs of a battle that were easily read in the dirt, spent cartridges, and even an empty gun lying on the trail. Marks of horses’ hooves, some shod some not and bare human feet of various small sizes lead on into the scrub. Finally, they came upon a man’s body. He was swarthy and dark haired, either Mexican or a half-breed and wearing plain working gear. His pistol was missing from its holster. As O’Neill rolled him over, he could see the bullet hole in the top center of his chest, just under the throat. A killing shot, not meant to wound. The trail then narrowed to one of only a few feet wide, showing small bare feet and a pair of women’s boots. They had to be Cassie’s and what appeared to be the missing children.

The sandy-loam dirt path led to the riverbank and went into the water. Jack swung back onto his horse’s back and urged him into the shallow water. Young bull followed on his horse and Brown Pony trailed behind. As they rode through the river’s deep cold water, they passed another man’s body where it had washed up on the far bank. The battle had continued on here, a running fight in the quiet creek. They could see signs in the torn up grass along the bank and the displaced rocks. There were still muddied areas and even a sapling had been torn up by its roots in one place. Jack was getting worried. He’d not seen direct sign of Daniel, though the bodies of the two attackers spoke of his protective presence over the children.

Leaving the riverbank, and riding down a draw, there was a suspicious torn up area that looked like some larger act of violence had occurred in the spot. There was Brown Pony’s mechate saddle lying in the dirt with its girth cut, apparently by a sharp knife. But other than a small splash of blood and the disturbed earth, there was no other sign of what had happened. Jack dismounted, looking at the site carefully then back at Young Bull who had come up beside him. “This is where the horse was hurt,” he pointed back at Brown Pony, “He fell here, probably throwing Daniel.”

Young Bull nodded his agreement. “I have found the tracks of the children; they have gone into the brushy canyon. Maybe they hide there.”

O’Neill nodded. “Show me.” The youngster took him over a few yards where they saw tracks of a small group of fleeing victims. They had come out on the other side of the heavy brush. Their trail continued on up a slope and into a rocky outcropping that formed a stony, hilly area up above the water’s main course.

There were some sizable boulders and crevasses in the jumbled rocks. As he rounded a steep bluff face of granite, Jack heard the sound of a pistol being cocked.

Pulling his own weapon out of its holster, and throwing himself down off the far side of his horse, he was relieved to hear a familiar female voice. “Sheriff Jack! Thank goodness...it’s you!”

He put his gun away and came around Hawk to meet Cassie Fraiser as she flung herself headlong into his arms.

Chapter 2 The Searcher

“Hey, there girl, you scared me out of a month of Sundays” He looked down at her tear-stained face. “Are you all right?” He asked as he relieved her of the pistol she was carrying in her hand.

She gladly gave the weapon up, then clung to him even harder. “It was horrible! I couldn’t believe it. They were shooting everybody and for no reason!”

“Shush, sweetheart. Who was shooting them?” Jack hugged her back, then rubbed her back soothingly.

“Men, they looked Mexican but Daniel said Comancheros.”

“Where’s Daniel?” Jack asked anxiously. “Is he with the children?”

“No, the children are all back in the brush...Daniel was behind us, protecting us, but they killed brown pony...and I haven’t seen Daniel...”

“Whoa, Cassie, slow down...Brown Pony’s not dead, he’s back there with Hawk. He’s shot but he’ll heal once I get the bullet out of him.” he assured the upset young girl. “It’ll take a lot more than one bullet in his butt to put that ole mustang under.” He tilted her face up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Now where are these kids? We need to make camp for the night, it’s nearly dark now.”

Cassie finally turned the Sheriff loose and turned to lead them back into the boulder-strewn arroyo. “They’re all in here, but Daniel told them to hide. I don’t know if they’ll come out with you here.”

“And I won’t blame them if they don’t, but I’ll build a fire and we’ll put some grub on. Maybe they’ll come to a bit of food.” He looked back at the young Indian who had been standing quietly. “Go do me a perimeter search, Young Bull. I don’t want to be surprised tonight; I want to be sure the yayhoo’s that did this is gone from here.” The youngster nodded and slipped off his mare; then he vanished into the underbrush.

Cassie watched him go. “He’s just a boy. Will he be safe?” She looked much older than her fourteen years, worried as she was.

Jack smiled down at her. “He’s the same age as Danny when we first took up together. He’ll do fine. How about you? Are you hurt?”

Cassie shook her head negatively. “No, I’m not hurt.” She assured him. “We all got away pretty quick. But,” she added, “They would have killed us for sure if Daniel hadn’t been there.”

Jack nodded and hugged her close, and looked into the brush. Where was Daniel? But there were other more pressing needs for now. He’d search out his friend later.

Jack started a fire, and put some water on to boil in the old skillet that was part of his saddle pack. He added some frijole beans and then some of his dried jerky. Next he put water on for his coffee in the other pot. As the shadows melted into the moonlight, Young Bull returned to say that there was no one around and that the men had probably gone. Jack nodded and began to get the camp ready by the fire.

While Cassie watched the food cook and Young Bull gathered wood for the night fire, the Sheriff looked to the horses. He hobbled Hawk and the roan mare but left Pony loose. He knew that the old brown horse wouldn’t go far without the other horses. He then washed the horse’s wound out with boiled water and probed a bit for the bullet, but he stopped short of his getting kicked. Doc Janet or Doc Devra would have to do the digging. It was too deep in the big haunch muscle for his skill at doctoring.

Slowly, that evening, as the hour grew later and the night darker, a few of the children began to creep into camp. It was getting cool and the warmth of the fire and food drew them. They were mostly naked so Jack built the fire up for its heat. Cassie, using Jack’s old tin cup, dipped out a small amount of the boiled beans and jerky for each child’s meager supper. Then the little ones curled up with each other like puppies, seeking what warmth and security they could find in each other’s presence. The Sheriff made it a point to welcome each child with a smile and a soft word. As they began to settle down in their groups, Jack would liberate a saddle blanket from the tack pile and spread it over them. Cassie had settled down with the two littlest toddlers wrapped in her riding jacket. Jack shucked his fringed leather coat for her. As he looked down at the sleeping girl child he thought of Daniel.

It was a long night of Jack sitting guard over the sleeping children and welcoming the few stragglers that had shyly come in out of the dark. He'd done a few perimeter walks and returned to find one or two more had come in. A cup of the bean soup and a warm spot was offered and by early morning he counted 24 children, not including Cassi. And he knew they all owed their lives to Daniel Jackson's quick thinking on their behalf.

The next morning, as the early light began to filter in through the mesquite trees, their horses snorted and began to look down the trail with pricked ears. Jack picked up his rifle from where he had propped it up against a log. Young Bull also picked up the pistol that Jack had taken from Cassie. After a few minutes more, he could hear men's voices. Then he recognized the deep baritone of Teal'c and the lighter tenor of Lou Ferretti. He relaxed his vigilance and walked up the trail to greet the men.

"Hey, Jack good to see you." Lou hollered at him. He looked around at the children who were looking suspiciously out of their various sleep-nests. "I gotta tell ya, you led us on a merry chase. Doc's a bit riled at you and Danny."

The Sheriff approached the riders and shook hands with them, as they got off their tired looking horses. "Don't take this the wrong way Lou, Teal'c, cause I'm surely glad to see you, but how did you know to come?"

"Well, big T here was fixing to come a-looking anyways when you didn't come back last night, but then Daniel's paint come a flying in at a dead run, stirrups a flapping and no bridle on. So we saddled right up and started to head up here to see what's a going on. Well, Doc, she sees us a leaving and bless Pat here she comes with that buckboard of hers. Cain’t leave her go on her own sos we all come a hooting and a hollering into the Mission. Padre Joe, well he gets all het up, and saddles that ole plowing horse of his and, well, here we be.” Lou looked around at the children, "What kind of Indians are these, Jack?"

"Tonkawa, Lou. I remember the name, but I don't know their particulars. Mike would know."

"Jack, I’ve heard of them too. There used to be a tribe in South Texas along the coast called the Tonkawas but I heard they all were killed off."

The Sheriff looked at him oddly. "Why on earth would someone do that?"  
"They were cannibals, Jack. They ate people." Lou looked at him seriously. "Someone must have taken offense at it and decided they didn't need to be there anymore." He frowned, "I heard that what was left of them was moved to a reservation in Kansas before the war, but I'm not sure where.”

Jack looked around at all the little ones peering up at them with fear still in their eyes. "Cannibals, huh? Funny, Lou, they just look like scared little kids to me."

Lou nodded, then turned around to the sound of more riders and a buckboard.

Doc Fraiser in her buckboard, Padre Joe, Samantha and several more riders came into view as they made their careful way up the narrow trail. As soon as she saw her mother, Cassie leaped up and ran into Janet's arms.

“Oh, Cassie honey! Are you hurt? Are you all right?” Janet hugged her wayward child tight then began to look at her carefully.

“Yes, Mama. I’m fine, Daniel saved me and as many of the children as he could. The elders told him to go, but he wouldn’t leave the little ones.” She took a breath and dashed the tears from her eyes. “And then the men came and started shooting everyone. Feather ran away and Daniel got up on Brown Pony and started to fight them back. He made me take the children and run up here into the brush to hide them. We could hear them shooting and hollering, and we crossed the river but they found us and they shot Pony and he fell and Daniel’s gone and....” she burst into tears... “I don’t know where Daniel is!”

Jack had been listening to her stream of information, the things she couldn’t tell him last night because of her own fear and exhaustion. “Honey, Cassie, where did Daniel fall?”

“Oh, Sheriff, I should of told you last night...you could have found him...I’m so stupid...” She sniffed back her tears and pointed back down the trail. “He’d just crossed the river with us and the men came out of the woods again...that’s when they shot Pony and he fell and Daniel told me to take the children and run. But he never came back to us, and I was trying to hide the little ones.”

“Did any of the men come, after you saw Daniel stop?”

“No, he shot one in the river and another one on the bank. He was laying, hiding behind Pony...and I never saw him again.”

Lou, Teal’c and Sam had come around to listen to the young girl’s story of flight and terror.

They knew now that Daniel was lying out in the brush somewhere, possibly hurt or dead. Jack hadn’t seen his body, but Indian-trained as he was, Daniel would have gone to ground just like a badger to heal or die on his own.

Jack looked around the little circle of friends. “Well, Lou, you, Doc and Joe take Cassie and the other kids back to the mission. It’s the only place for them now, the village was destroyed and I think all the adults are probably dead.”

Lou nodded. “We’ll use the buckboard and carry some of them double.” He looked at his friend. “You’re staying to look for Daniel?”

Jack nodded. “There’s no telling what state he’s in. He could be dead, hurt or...confused.”

Lou looked grim. He’d seen Daniel in one of his episodes back in the town. They had never quite found out what had happened to the young man to cause the blackouts that Daniel would go into. They’d always assumed it had something to do with his wife’s death, but Jack had never asked, and Daniel had held his own council.

The spells always seemed to start when Daniel was exposed to a large amount of fresh blood, whether he got some on himself or if someone he knew and cared about was bloody wounded. And it always seemed to be worse if it was a youngster hurt. During these periods, Daniel seemed to revert back to his Indian life, speaking only in the Cherokee tongue and defensively going for whatever weapon was close, usually a knife, or a gun.

Jack had seen something like it once before, in a survivor of an Indian attack. The man had been surprised by a holdup man, had gone berserk and killed his attacker in a fit of uncontrolled rage. Daniel was not that dangerous, thank goodness. He would only withdraw and defend himself and anyone with him from the perceived danger. He had attacked anyone who stayed more than ten feet away from him, had never actually hurt anyone, but Jack knew the potential was there.

However, after being in a running gunfight where a large number of people had been killed before his very eyes, O’Neill had no way of knowing just how bad off and dangerous his young friend could be. And if he was injured, Jack knew the young man could very well be a danger to any unwary searcher. Jack knew that he was probably the only one who could successfully draw his friend out of his confusion.

Jack looked over at Teal’c and Sam. “I’m not going back until I find Daniel. You two want to stay and back me up?”

Teal’c looked at his friend and nodded. “We would not leave without you and Danieljackson, O’Neill.”

Sam frowned and agreed. “He may be hurt and you’ll need help to tend him.” She glanced at the wounded horse standing in the shade, “And Brown Pony, needs care too. We’ll help Janet get the bullet out of him and then she and the Padre can take the kids back to the mission in the wagon.”

Jack nodded, gratefully. “You do that, but watch Pony. He’ll kick fire out of you when you go digging after that bullet.”

Teal’c acknowledged the danger. “I will hold him and twist his ear if necessary. Then I will help you find Danieljackson.”

Jack smiled gratefully. He didn’t want to be anywhere near that fracas when they started doctoring the old horse. He couldn’t afford to get hurt now with Daniel missing. He glanced over at Lou.

Ferretti was watching the priest as he was trying to talk to the children. Joe was getting the kids used to him and the idea of going back to the mission, not to mention riding in the buckboard. Lou left the Padre and came over to Jack. “Mike is gonna be mad he didn’t come.” Lou shook his head. “But the old man knew he’d hold us back. He said he’d take care of the office and Dollar for you.”

“Yeah, Mike’s already done his bit for God and Texas.” Jack said scanning the hilly area that rose from his campsite. “Hopefully, I can find my other wolf and bring him in peaceable. We’ll come in slow and easy, it may take a day or two to get back into town. Just get the children back safe for me.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Jack.” Lou said to his friend. “Just go find Daniel. He’ll be needing you, I’m thinking.”

\-------

It was late afternoon and Jack had been on the hunt now for several hours. The wagon had left, taking the children back to the mission late morning. Cassie, under protest, had gone with her mother and Young Bull, similarly, with Father Joe. Both youngsters had wanted to stay and help with the search. Jack had to explain to them that he couldn’t look for Danny until he was sure that they were all safe. If something happened to them now, their friend’s sacrifice would have been all for nothing. Finally, the Indian children were loaded up and the group had gotten off down the trail.

Sam had stayed in camp on the off chance that Daniel would come to them, though no one expected him too. The young woman was well armed with both pistol and rifle, in case any of the attackers decided to return. She would keep the campfire burning, and have medical help available when they found Daniel. Sam would also take Brown Pony in hand and Jack knew that she would take good care of his friend’s old pet. Jack wanted to be sure the old horse got good care so that he would at least be able to live out a happy retirement. Miraculously the animal had only sustained the one major wound. Doc Janet had found and removed a second bullet from a second injury on top of his back that had miraculously missed the spine, possibly a spent ricocheted shot from off a rock while he was down. Both wounds had been cleaned and treated before the lady doctor had departed in her wagon. She had left her doctor’s bag with Sam on the chance that Daniel too might have been wounded and needing medical care when they found him. When, not if.

Now, he had no other business other than to find his friend. Jack knew it wouldn’t be an easy task, Daniel was as canny a woodsman as ever he had known. O’Neill figured that the young man would strike out for high ground, back in the area where he had Cassie take the children to hide. Other than trying to think like Daniel, Jack had no other sign of his whereabouts. But something kept him looking in the rocky brush area close to where he had found Cassie and the Indian children. Jack knew that in his worst state of mind, Daniel would try to protect them, even if he didn’t rightly know who they were at that point.

Teal’c was also out searching, having gone down river in case Daniel had been killed in the fight and his body washed downstream. It was a sobering point, but one Jack knew had to be explored. Also, Teal’c would be the only other man that Jack thought could safely approach a wounded Daniel Jackson.

The last episode that he knew Daniel had was at the schoolhouse when one of the children had inadvertently knocked over a can of red paint onto Daniel and the ground. The young man had gone off into a memory of something that had happened to him in his past. Red blood on his hands moved him to a violent and panicked protectiveness for the kids that had been around him. That time Jack had managed to talk him back to reality by using his limited command of the Cherokee language. He wasn’t sure what would have happened if he hadn’t been there, but he was afraid of any outcome that would have arisen.

Jack was certain that Daniel hadn’t been like this before the war. He remembered a happy youngster, deeply in love with his wife and very well settled in with his adoptive people. But all that had changed in the four years that he’d been gone back east. In their years apart, they had both see many things to drastically change his both of them.

His own experience had been at the hands of a known enemy. It was not a good thing, but it was one he understood. The POW camp at Andersonville had been a horrific nightmare to Jack. One that had almost cost him his own life and sanity. Jack had been captured by some Johnny-Rebs at the battle of Cedar Creek and he’d spent the last six months of the war wounded and sick at Andersonville prison in Georgia.

At the end, it had been Daniel that had come for him. When Jack hadn’t returned to his friend as he had promised. The young man had ridden over a thousand miles into a strange world that had made very little sense to the young man raised by the Cherokee. But Daniel had kept on looking until he found Jack, sick and dying in a prison hospital. Daniel had taken him out of the hell that O’Neill had fallen into, single handedly saving his very life and soul.

They had met Sam and Teal’c on that journey, the young woman opening her home to the strange, intense young man and his devastated charge. Teal’c, a freed slave who had remained to guard his old master’s daughter had helped in his recovery and the four friends had formed a deep bond. One that Jack was counting on to help him now to find and rescue Daniel from whatever purgatory he was presently occupying.

O’Neill lifted his eyes and scanned the brushy arroyo that he had thought appeared promising. It offered a lot of cover for someone in hiding, yet a man could watch the surrounding area from any number of rocky perches. It was as good a spot to search as any, one that he knew would have drawn his friend as it had him.

The Sheriff had already been back to where Brown Pony had been shot and knocked down. He had read the signs that Daniel had indeed taken cover behind the old horse’s body as Cassie had said. That the saddle’s girth had been cut, freeing the animal from any constraints to his freedom, told him that his friend had been alive at that point.

Jack had searched the hard ground for any clue of the direction that his friend might have come this way. There were some indications of his passage; a broken twig, a bent blade of the desert grass, a rock out of place, but it was guesswork only. Daniel continued to wear his moccasins, refusing the heavier western boots. The soft footwear made tracking him that much harder. Jack made a promise to himself that he would have the young man a pair of custom boots made and then force him to wear them. Yeah, right, sure thing.

O’Neill continued up the little canyon, following the soft scuffmarks in the shallow dirt. The trail made a sharp cut to the right narrowing down as it went. Turning the corner, Jack saw a dark spot below the rocky cliff face. It appeared to be a small hollowed out cave, washed out by the flash floods that this type of terrain was prone to. It was just the sort of place that Daniel would hole up in. Maybe Jack’s Irish luck was holding on for them both this time.

As O’Neill got closer to the opening, he could tell that something had indeed been here very recently, even as late as last night. Holding his breath he stepped quietly up to the mouth of the little cave, he bent down to peer up and inside the four-foot high opening. “Daniel, are you in there?”

There was no answer, but then, he might not be willing or able to do so. Sighing his unhappiness at the situation, Jack carefully propped his rifle up on the wall of rock outside of the small cave and crouched down in the rocky soil, preparing to enter it. His old knee injury twinged, reminding him that he would be at a big disadvantage in the small confined space. He only hoped he would be finding his lost friend and not a denned up bear, lion or rattlesnake.

Chapter 3 The Rescue

Jack crawled into the confined space on his hands and knees. “Daniel, are you in here?” The small cave wasn’t even large enough to hold an echo, but he did get an answer of sorts. He heard the sound of a revolver’s hammer clicking into place, and a weak but familiar voice that said in Cherokee.

"Tla! Ha-le'!" (No! Stop!)

"Daniel, Wa-ya! It's Ta-wa-di, your da-ni-ta-ga." (Coyote, it’s Hawk, your blood brother.)

The blue eyes looked directly at Jack with no recognition. "NO! Ta-wa-di is not here! He is gone east to fight in his war. You are not he."

“Wa-ya,” Jack called back in a calm voice, “The war is over. We are gone from there. You came for me, remember. You brought me home."

Daniel shook his head defiantly, shifting his position to steady the gun. "No! Go now or I will kill you! You cannot have the young ones!"

"Daniel! Look at me.” Jack sat back on his heels so the other man could see him clearly. “It's Ta-wa-di, It's Jack."

"No! Jack is gone! You lie!" The gun wavered dangerously in his direction. "I do not know you!"

"Daniel! Look at me with your eyes and your heart. Who do you see?"

"I see no one." Daniel was visibly shaking now, his finger no doubt tightening on the trigger.

Jack knew then that Daniel didn’t recognize him in his present state of confusion. He had to make his move now, or his best friend would shoot him.

As the barrel of the gun wobbled away from him, Jack grabbed the younger man's wrist, pushing it up and away from him. The sudden jerking movement caused the gun to discharge with a deafening noise within inches of his head. Wrestling the gun away from Daniel, he grabbed the younger man around the shoulders hard, pulling him into his chest. He could barely hear or see now in the darkness as he clasped Daniel securely to him. The loud noise and the powder-flash of the weapon had stunned both men.

In a few moments, after Jack's head had cleared from the concussion, he looked down at the now unconscious man lying in his arms. It was then that he noticed there was blood on both Daniel’s hands and his own.

Lying there in the dirt of the cave's floor, cradling his friend, Jack gently searched him for its origin. Examining Daniel, he found a bullet hole on his upper left chest below the collarbone. The injury had been concealed by the dimness of the cave. As Jack shifted him to examine the bloodied site, the younger man moved in his arms and moaned softly.

"Danny, you hurting?" He asked gently, brushing the long hair away from his friend’s face.

The younger man lolled his head back against O'Neill's chest. "What?" He croaked. He looked up in confusion at his friend. "Jack?"

O'Neill indicated his wounded shoulder, " Yeah, Danny, it's me. Your shoulder, does it hurt?"

Daniel looked down at his shirt and saw the stain. "My shoulder? Did somebody shoot me?"

Jack took the opportunity to lean over and peel the leather shirt away from the fair skin exposing a large caliber bullet hole, mottled and bruised. He grimaced. "Yeah, I'd say so. Want to come back to camp with me? We can put some river water to the sacred fire and do you a healing."

"Jack? You're here?"

"Sure, I had to come and find you. Gotten a little attached to you, ya know."

Daniel noticed the color on the other man's hands. "Jack……did I shoot you?"

"No Danny, you didn't. We're all right now."

"But I shot at you. God, Jack……" For the first time, Daniel looked frightened. "I could have killed you!"

"But you didn't, Danny. It's all right. You didn't know me. You were having a spell."

Daniel turned and buried his face in Jack’s cotton shirt. O'Neill gently stroked his friend's long hair. “Are you ready to come back to camp with me? You can commiserate with Brown Pony. He needs some petting and making over after Doc Janet and Teal's got through with him."

"Pony's dead, Jack." Daniel said softly, his voice muffled by Jack’s shoulder.

"Nope, I'm happy to say he's probably being spoiled rotten by Sam even as we speak."

"But I was riding him when he went down. He lay there and took another shot in his back. He didn't even flinch. I cut his girth so his spirit could run free."

Jack continued to touch and stroke the younger man’s face and hair of keep him calm. "Danny, that pony would jump off a cliff if you asked him to. He was shot in the left butt and then the last bullet just skittered along his ribs. In two weeks, he'll be running the herd off their oats. That Mustang's as tough as you are, compadre."

"He's alive?" Daniel looked at him in surprise.

"Alive and kicking, just ask Teal'c to show you the proof. My old camp pot will never be the same even if Siler beats the dent out of it. It flew at least fifteen feet when Doc dug that slug out of his butt." Jack smiled at Daniel's expression. "Will you come with me back to the camp?"

"Okay, except……"

"What, buddy?"

"I don't think I can get up. I seem to have hurt my leg again."

“Aw, Danny...” Jack moved around so he could look at Daniel's leg. He hadn’t seen it before, but closer inspection showed another bullet wound in the big thigh muscle. "Daniel, I'm gonna move it okay?" At his friend's nod, Jack gently stretched out the injured limb. Daniel gasped once and quietly passed out.

“Sorry about that, Partner.” Jack spoke to the unconscious man. “But I gotta get you back to camp.” He looked at the dirty, bruised face. “Hang on Danny. It’ll be over soon.” After making sure that his friend was still breathing, Jack took his skinning knife and opened Daniel's pant leg. Though he hated the fact that the younger man was that badly hurt, it had saved an argument about the leather. He then concentrated on where the bullet was situated. It would need Janet's touch to pull out, as would the other. No flesh wounds here, both were deep and painful. He pulled his bandana off and wrapped it securely over the bullet hole. It had already stopped bleeding but could start again when he manhandled Daniel out of the cave.

He gently tugged on Daniel's long legs until his younger friend was lying flat on his back. Then, he carefully crawled backwards, dragging the unconscious man along with him. When they finally reached the mouth of the shallow cave, Jack stood up and stretched, his muscles complaining from their cramped position and the heavy load.

Turning around he scanned the rough terrain. There was no way he could carry his friend down the rocky ground by himself and he couldn't drag him without causing him more injury. Then Jack saw a dark shadow moving through the brush. He picked up his rifle from the side of the rock face and crouched down over Daniel's unconscious body.

After a moment, Jack relaxed and stood up to wave at Teal'c. The big man signaled back and climbed up the slope to his side.

"You have found him, O'Neill. Is he badly injured?”

“Bad enough, Teal’c, one in the upper chest and one in the leg. He’s gonna hurt like  
hell when he wakes up.”

“And his mind?” The dark brown eyes met Jack’s.

“Not too far off, I think. At first he didn’t know who I was, but we got it worked out.” Jack looked down the rough and rocky trail. “We’ve got to get him back to camp.”

Teal’c smiled a small smile. “Then it is lucky that I found you. I will carry him.”

“T, are you sure? He isn’t a boy anymore. He’s heavy.”

“I will carry him, he is not so heavy, and my horse is just a short distance.” He bent to lift his burden gently. “Iit is not so far.” Slipping his big hands under Daniel’s shoulders and knees, he lifted the younger man like a child.

With O’Neill helping to guide Teal’c’s steps down the rough trail and to the horse, they soon got the injured man back to the campsite. Sam had a pot of coffee on and had replenished the simple soup from last evening. She had also made some tortillas and fried some bacon that they had brought with them.

Jack and Sam quickly set up a bedroll for the injured man and Teal’c started the water boiling to purify it to clean the wounds. It was a concept that all of them had accepted from Daniel. Jack couldn’t say if it was the sacred fire purifying the spirits of the water as the younger man insisted or for what other reason, but they had discovered that the little extra effort it caused them, wounds always healed better and faster for it.

Sam had inspected the injuries and pronounced them beyond her meager skills to treat. She looked at Jack worriedly. “We need to get him to town and into bed so Janet can get the bullets out before they go to the bad.”

Jack nodded in agreement. One of them should go on to town and get a wagon, but with the Comancheros out and running, he didn’t want to send anyone alone. Tomorrow, they could build a travois and get there in one day. But it was too late in the evening to start now..

Sam and Teal’c had started dinner when they heard the welcome sounds of a wagon coming up the trail.

O’Neill slipped up on Hawk bareback and went down the narrow path to meet them. It was Old Mike Burell and Dave Siler in the wagon and Lou Ferretti as out-rider.

Lou rode out front to meet with Jack. “I see you found him.”

“Yeah, he’d gone to ground just like I suspected.” Jack nodded at the two men in the wagon.

“Found him up in the rocks, did ya?” Mike stated at the two old friends shook hands.

Jack nodded, “Up and under a little washed out overhang.”

The old Ranger nodded. “That’s where he got his Cherokee name. When he was a lad we found him all denned up like a little coyote and showing teeth.”

Jack pointed at the powder burn on his cheek and neck. “Yeah, well, he’ll still bite if you get too close.”

Siler whistled at the mark. “I should say so, Sheriff. You’re lucky you’ve still got a face.”

“I know, but it was my fault. I should have known not to try and take him out of there on my own. But,” he shrugged. “All’s well that ends well, I suppose.”

Mike just shook his head muttering about luck, foolishness and the foolhardy.  
\-------

When they got into camp, Sam and Teal’c added their welcome to everyone. Daniel was lying awake in his bedroll, still and quiet. The old Ranger climbed stiffly out of the wagon and walked over to his young friend.

“Hullo, Jun'ge. Trying to save the world again?”

“Hello, Mike.” Daniel smiled up at him weakly.

“I have told you about doing such things. See you have given Jack gray hair, and taken some of mine away.”

“I’m sorry, Mike. I didn’t mean to cause a fuss.”

“Jah, that is what you have always said, little coyote.” The old man smiled down fondly at him. Then, his eyes shifted to Jack who had sat down tiredly on his own bedroll. “How badly is he hurt?”

“Two bullet holes that need Janet.” Jack replied. “She’s gonna charge me extra this time, cause she had to doctor that ole brown horse of Danny’s too.” He waved a hand towards their four mounts that were standing over in the shade of some Mesquite trees.

Mike nodded at his motion then both of the men looked as Lou came sauntering over to check on the small group. “Dave and Miz Sam are fixing some supper for this evening, then we’ll take the night watch, Jack. I know you haven’t got any sleep in a day or so. The mayor and Louigi sent along a slab of brisket and some fresh bread after they heard we were coming back out to you and Miz Deb at the hotel stopped us and gave us one of her peachy cobblers.” He shook his head. “Them’s the cookingest women I ever did see.”

\-------

After dinner was eaten and everyone had settled for the evening, Ferretti took the first night watch. Though the sheriff wouldn't admit it, he was exhausted. The stress of the last two days had taken their toll on him. First, the worry about the two missing people, both close to him personally; then the discovery of the massacre at the village and finally, the search and rescue of Daniel. That in itself was enough to take the starch out of the boldest man.

As the sun set, he laid his own bedroll down next to Daniel's sickbed and prepared to have what he hoped would be a quiet night's sleep. It was not to be so.

After a few hours rest, Daniel began to move restlessly in his bedroll, murmuring phrases in several different dialects. Jack awoke at his movements. Knowing that the younger man was dreaming, he rolled over on his side and spoke softly to him. His voice began to penetrate his friend's dreams, calming and centering him. When the blue eyes finally opened, Jack spoke to him to try and ground him in the here and now. “Daniel? How are you feeling?”

Daniel turned to look at him. “Jack?”

“Yeah, buddy. It’s me.” He moved to lean over his friend so that Daniel could see him clearly. “Do you know where you are?”

Daniel seemed confused, looking around. “I’m in a camp with you and some of the others, I think.”

“Good, yes, that’s right. Now, comes the hard question.” Jack gave him a crooked smile to encourage him. “Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

“Yesterday?” The younger man looked up at him, frowning as he concentrated. “Yesterday, I went to the mission to help Padre Joe. Didn’t I?”

Jack nodded, “Yes, yes you did, that’s right. Then, what?”

“I took Cassie with me; she wanted to go for a ride. So I got Feather and Brown Pony ready and we left early.” He glanced at Jack for collaboration. O’Neill nodded for him to go on and Daniel continued speaking. "I thought I recognized a little of their language...but I hadn’t heard it in a long time...not since the Wichita Agency.”

“What were you doing way up there?” Jack asked curiously.

Daniel lay back on the saddle blanket that served as his pillow. “After Shaure...after Shaure was taken from us, Grandfather was worried that I would follow you to the war in the east. I was thinking of it and he didn't want me to go. So, he decided that I should go to help at the reservations in the north to help the different tribes settle in together. He knew I enjoyed learning new languages and I was good at it. I didn’t want to stay in o-ga-la-ho-mi." Daniel sighed and dropped his eyes. He fingered the ragged edge of his blanket. “I was restless. Everything reminded me of my wife. So I went to the Wichita Agency. There, I met and worked with Horace Jones, the scout. He knew several tongues and he taught me many things"

O’Neill shook his head sorrowfully. “And here I thought I had left you safe in the Nations.”

“There was no safe place, Ta-wa-di.” Daniel sighed, grimacing as he moved in his bed. “The madness of war had even reached into our home. My foster brother had gone to fight with Stand Watie in the south. He never came back.”

Old Mike Burell had been sitting at the fire listening. "You were at the Wichita Agency, Daniel? With the Tonkawa?”

Daniel turned his head to answer his old mentor. "Yes, Mike."

"Ach, that was a bad business. I know Jones, he is a good man but he was not able to help much. He told me a little about what when on. I didn't know you were involved in that."

Jack looked over at the old Ranger, then back at the younger man. "What happened up there?"

“A lot of killing, Jack,” Daniel answered sorrowfully. "A whole lot of killing." He lay back and closed his eyes.

Jack gently patted Daniel on his good shoulder. "You just rest now, Danny. Tomorrow, we'll go back home. Doc can get those bullets out, and Dollar will keep your feet warm."

Daniel smiled sleepily up at him. "I'm looking forward to it."

Jack watched a while longer to make sure that his friend fell asleep first, then he too lay down to rest.

\-------

Late the next afternoon, the little caravan finally arrived back in Tok'ra Flats. They had taken their time allowing for a softer ride for the injured man and the slower pace of the wounded horse so it had taken most of the day. Word of their arrival had preceded them and Doc Fraiser was waiting for them at the door of the storefront that served as her hospital.

Teal'c carried the patient into the doctor’s clinic, with Jack and Mike following in his wake. Sam escorted Brown Pony over to Doc Devra's Veterinarian barn and left him there in her good hands. The rest of the riders went on to their normal occupations.

The doctor had shooed Mike away so the old man could go and get some rest after all the excitement. Doctor Fraiser did allow Jack to sit with Daniel while she treated his wounds. She gave him a little morphine for the pain, but he refused to let her use the chloroform.

O'Neill knew it was because his friend didn’t want any more bad dreams he couldn’t wake up from. So he stayed there with Daniel, as the younger man argued in vain about the doctor cutting off his leathers, then gripped O'Neill's hand hard as he suffered silently throughout the ordeal of Janet probing for the two bullets.

Finally, when the operation and treatment were over; Daniel had once again fallen into a deep exhausted sleep. Janet sent the sheriff off to get some rest of his own. She assured him that all the injuries were in non-vital areas and everything had gone well. All Daniel needed, she told him, was lots of rest and time. He would be back to normal by mid-winter.

After being effectively run off by the Doctor Fraiser, Sheriff O'Neill checked in with Judge Hammond, letting him know the details of their search. The Judge had heard the young man had been found but he wanted a complete report from his sheriff. Jack also told Judge Hammond about the destruction of the Tonkawa village and they discussed what help they could offer to Father O’Neill for the benefit of the children. After the two men had spoken at some length, Jack headed over to the Emerald City Saloon for a beer, and a meal in that order.

The sheriff sat down at his normal table and ordered dinner. Louigi hovered a bit as he delivered the meal and caught Jack up with the local town news. O’Neill listened with half an ear, being too caught up in his own thoughts to be very talkative. The bartender finally gave up the conversation and went back to whatever chores he had.

Just as he finished eating, O'Neill looked up to see Teal'c, Samantha and Mike enter the dining room. He motioned them over to the table.

When they had all gotten seated and Louigi had brought them drinks, Mike asked. "Who's with Daniel?"

“Janet is sitting with him for now.” Sam answered. “I’ve just come from there. I’ll go spell her after we’re through.”

Jack shook his head at her offer. “Thanks, Sam, but I need to be with him. If he has dreams tonight, you won’t be able to wake him, and he might accidentally hit you when he starts fighting.”

Mike looked at Jack with concern written on his face. “The dreams, they are that bad?”

Jack nodded grimly. “Yes, and I’m sure this is going to bring them all back again.”

“Jah, you are probably right.” The old man looked sorrowfully at the table. “I didn’t know that he was at the Wichita. Like you, I thought he was safe at Wise Eagle’s farm during the war.”

Sam looked back and forth at the two men. “What happened at Wichita anyway? Isn’t that in Kansas?”

“Jah, Sam.” Mike answered her. “But it’s not where it’s at that’s the problem, but what happened there.”

Teal’c looked at him curiously. “What did happen there, Ranger Burell?”

Mike took a drink of his beer. “Murder, Teal’c, cold blooded murder.”

Chapter 4 Home Again

Jack immediately turned his attention to the old Ranger. “Murder, Mike? Were you there?”

"Ach, no. I know Jones, he is a good man but he was not able to help much. He told me a little about what went on. That was a bad business. I didn't know Daniel was involved in that."

"Mike, what do you know about this Wichita Agency?"

"I don't know much really, just what I had heard through talk." The old man stopped to think. "It was back in sixty-two, during the war years. The Rangers had been disbanded. All the youngsters, like yourself, had run off to fight in Mister Lincoln's war.” He smiled over at Jack, who nodded.

“There were only a few old timers like me left to keep the peace in Texas and the territories." He shook his head. "It was a difficult time. Highwaymen, bandits, Comanche, Comancheros, even some Apaches were keeping things hot for us. Some of the smaller tribes were being relocated to other areas. The Tonkawas left their home range to go to the Wichita Station.” He paused to think of how to explain it.

“The Cherokee themselves were having a civil war inside the civil war. There were Indian soldiers on both sides. The Choctaw and Chickasaw sided with the Confederates as well as most of the Creeks and Shawnees.

The two things that the Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Apache and Arapaho agreed on was that they didn't care who won the war, as long as the white man just went away. The other was they didn't like the Tonkawa.” Mike took a long drink of his beer, then continued. “I knew Jones. He was a scout and an interpreter. I saw him some years later and he told me about it. In sixty-two, he was at the Wichita Agency.  
Your war had been going on about a year. He said that one night, he heard riders coming to his cabin.

The Osage and some of the Shawnee had sided with the Federals. The Wichitas had thrown their lot with them too. They had moved from the Agency to Kansas. A handful of smaller tribes: Caddo, Tonkawa and Wacoes were still at the Wichita Agency that now was in Confederate control. They were too poor to bother with and basically had remained neutral.

Well, when Jones heard the commotion, he slipped out the back to where his pony was hobbled. He realized that it was the Osage and Shawnee who were Federal sympathizers on a raid of the Confederate post.” Mike stopped and looked at his audience. They were looking at him with their full attention.

He continued, “That night would bring the greatest massacre that Indian Territory would ever see. The Osage riddled the cabin with rifle shots and then set it on fire. The rest of the buildings at the agency were also burned and all the white people killed. The raiders then moved on to Ft. Cobb where they killed the occupants and set that post on fire.”

“Jones said he tried spreading the alarm but no one wanted to believe him. They believed that the friendly tribes would have warned them if there were going to be a raid. They were wrong. He said he would take them outside and show them the glow of the burning Ft. Cobb five miles in the distance... then maybe, some of them, would believe. After the raiders had burned the Wichita Agency and Ft. Cobb, they turned south to the Tonkawa Village. Now, you got to understand, this had nothing to do with the Civil War. All of the southern plains tribes just plain hated the Tonkawa.”

Sam sat her Iced tea down beside her plate and looked at the old man. “Why?’

Jack looked at her, then realized she didn’t know the real reason. “You see, Sam, the Tonkawas were cannibals.

Ranger Burell explained further. “Jah, that’s right. The word in the Comanche and Kiowa language used for Tonkawa meant the same thing...eaters of humans." At her shocked expression, he continued. “Story has it that a few years earlier two Kiowa boys about twelve years old was out hunting alone. The Tonkawa tried to capture them but one boy escaped. He hid in the bushes in a ravine and watched as the Tonkawas killed his friend and started cutting him up and began to cook the flesh on the campfire. Then, the other lad ran for his very life. A band of Comanche, who were allies of the Kiowa, found him. When the boy told his story, the Comanche went to the Kiowa village and gathered reinforcements. The two tribes then rode to the Tonkawa camp and surrounded it. The Comanche and Kiowa snuck in close to the village to see if the boy's story was true. They saw the dead Kiowa boy and the Tonkawa cooking his flesh on the fire. The Comanche and Kiowa were so repulsed by what they saw that they immediately attacked and killed every man, woman and child in that village.”

Jack nodded over his beer. “That’s what Ferretti had said, them being cannibals and all.”

Mike spoke. “Now, this night at Wichita, they had the entire Tonkawa tribe in one place and one camp. They attacked with the rifles given to them by the Federals. The Tonkawa only had bows and arrows to defend themselves. It wasn't much of a battle, just a slaughter. The attackers ran down most of them and killed them in the brush. Only a few escaped, less than two hundred. There had been over one thousand the day before.”

Jack looked at Teal’c, who nodded. That was exactly the type of country where they had found Daniel.

Mike continued. “The massacre continued all through the night into the next day. By the end of the day, the Osage had killed over eight hundred Tonkawa men, women and children. They almost wiped out the whole tribe.”

The old Ranger took another drink of beer. “The few Tonkawas that did survive managed to get to the Confederate outpost at Fort Arbuckle manned by the Chickasaw Battalion. Because it was illegal for any other tribe to be in the Chickasaw Nation the commander at Fort Arbuckle sent an urgent message to the Chickasaw governor asking permission for the tribe to seek shelter from the Osages in the Nation. The governor granted them permission.”

“He let them stay?” Teal’c said in satisfaction.

Mike nodded. “The commander of the post gave what food he could spare to the Tonkawas. Then he sent them to the springs on Rocky Creek eighteen miles east of Ft. Arbuckle. The wounded survivors of the Osage raid moved into the safety of the springs that November.” The old man shrugged. “I had thought there were all still there.”

“So, while the white man was off fighting in the war between north and south back east,” Sam nodded, comprehension in her eyes, “the Indians were having their own version of the war, only it was divided between the tribes.”

“It was more than that, Sam,” O’Neill said thoughtfully. “I heard that there were Cherokee soldiers on both sides of the war. They did have feelings about the way they wanted the union to be. It’s just some of the tribes took...advantage of the situation.”

“Jah, they took the old hatreds and turned them into political opinions.” Mike shrugged. “And it seemed that no one liked the Tonkawa.”

Teal’c spoke thoughtfully, “Cannibalism is not unknown among the black people of the old world, but it is usually the source of much hatred.”

“Yeah, and I’ve heard of people who will eat a part of an enemy...for his strength, youth, or knowledge.” The sheriff commented, “It’s not completely unheard of...but...” Jack let the thought trail off. “It does cause problems with the neighbors.”

Sam frowned at him. “And you think our Daniel was involved in this?”

Mike nodded. “From what you have all said, and what I heard, I would say he was. Jones said that there was a young man helping him at the Agency, but he didn’t say the name.” He shrugged, “I did not think of Daniel, but it could have easily been him.”

Jack sighed. “I’ll just have to ask him, Mike. And hope that he’ll talk.”

\-------

Later that evening, after a good meal and a nap, Jack sauntered into the Doctor’s office. Cassie was sweeping the floor in the entry room. She immediately put the broom down and went over to the Sheriff and hugged him around the waist.

“Hey! What was that for? Not that I’m complaining you understand.”

She looked up at him with big brown eyes. “That’s thank you, for saving Daniel and me....”

“You’re very welcome.” He smiled down at her. “But I’ve kind of gotten used to the two of you being around town here. I think I’d miss you.” He looked up to see Doctor Fraiser enter the room. “Besides, your Ma would never let me live it down if something happened to you.”

“That’s the truth.” Janet nodded to him. Cassie smiled over at her mother, then released the tall man.

“So,” the doctor commented to him, tilting her head to the side. “Are you going to tell me what happened to your face?”

“Awe, now Doc. It’s just a little powder burn. It should fade out soon.”

She motioned him over to the chair by her desk. “I thought that’s what it looked like. It was that close, was it?”

The sheriff had the good graces to look embarrassed. “I grabbed the gun and it went off next to my face.” he said with a shrug.

“Let me clean that up a bit, so it won’t get infected.” The Doctor shook her head. “This is going to hurt Daniel’s feelings you know.”

“He’s already seen it.” Jack sighed as she began to clean the area and apply a salve to his skin.

“So can you hear out of this ear yet?”

“Yeah, the ringing has calmed down pretty well.” he replied wryly. “And I only see purple spots when I look at the sun.”

She frowned at his levity. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“C’mon Doc. Every morning I wake up, I can get myself killed; but it’s not every day that I can save a friend’s life.”

“Oh, I give up.” She threw the towel down on the table. “I suppose you want to spend the night here too.”

“I suppose,” Jack grinned at her. “If you’ll let me.”

“Take the other bed tonight. I’ll let you take him home in the morning, if you promise not to let him walk more than a few steps.” She looked at him seriously. “And no stairs, when he gets up to his room, he stays there unless Teal’c carries him down.”

“I will not promise what I cannot guarantee.” O’Neill shook his head. “You know Daniel, when he gets it in his head....”

“...He’s as stubborn as you are.” Fraiser finished the sentence for him.

\-------

That night Jack had taken the doctor up on her offer of the other cot in the hospital room. It wasn’t much, a hard bench with a thin padding of woolen army blankets, but it was softer than the floor and just across the room from Daniel who was in an identical bed.

The evening started quiet enough, the injured man still under the influence of the morphine and sleeping the deep sleep of the drugged. O’Neill had settled down himself to a weary rest. But it was not to last.

Daniel started moving restlessly in his sleep. Then before Jack was completely awake, the younger man had started to talk. “Nu la’, nu la’, tsv-gi-li-si. A-ye-ga-li’!”

Waking up and hurrying to his friend’s side, Jack took Daniel’s hand in his and began patting his cheek. “Danny, wake up. Danny, wake up for me. Come on!”

“Tla, a-ye-ga-li...Shush. Be quiet! Hurry!”

“Daniel! Wake up!”

Daniel sat up in the bed and jerked away from his friend looking at him with a frown. “No, hurry, we’ve got to hurry!”

“Daniel!”

“NO! NO! NOOOO!”

Jack grabbed him by his good arm to keep him from falling. “Danny!”

Daniel looked at him in relief. “Jack! Jack, I knew you’d come.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Jack, we have to get the children out of here...they’re coming....”

“Daniel, you saved them, you got the children out. It’s okay.”

“NO! You don’t understand...” Daniel turned and grabbed him by his undershirt’s open neck. “They want to kill them too! No, Jack you can’t let them...” There were tears in his eyes by now. “Jack, you’ll help me?”

“Yeah, Danny, I’ll help you. Where are the kids? Where are they?”

“I told them to stay in the cabin...I told them to stay there and they’d be safe! We’ve got to get back to the cabin...”

Jack wasn’t following at this point, but he figured it was part of the dream. There was no cabin at the village that he’d seen, but... “Danny, if they’re in the cabin, then they’re safe.”

“NO, NO, NO! The cabin, I saw the cabin, I SAW THE CABIN!” Daniel was shouting.

“Daniel, Danny, what did you see?” He had hold of Daniel by the shoulders but the younger man was trying to pull loose from his grasp. “Danny, what about the cabin?”

“I left the children in the cabin, to be safe, I went to get the others, the others were with me...and I went into the cabin...and....”

“What? What was in the cabin?”

“They had found them, Jack they found them...”

“Daniel! What was in the cabin, Danny?”

“NOOOOOO!” The younger man jerked back against Jack’s hands, fighting to get loose from him.

Out of sheer frustration, Jack shook him. “Daniel! Danny! What did you see in the cabin”?

In a spasm of fear and strength, Daniel pulled out of Jack’s hands and tried to get out of bed. His leg crumpled under him and he fell onto the floor. O’Neill cursed, pushed the cot back out of the way and knelt by his friend.

“Danny, you saved them! You saved the children...”

“NO, no no no.....don’t you see?” Daniel looked around the floor in a panic, tears running unchecked down his face, his breaths coming in painful sobs. “They’re all dead, Jack; they’re all shot dead. I tried to pick them up, but their blood, they say the blood is bad but it’s all the same.” The young man held up his hands as if to show his friend. “It’s all the same.”

O’Neill stared at Daniel, beginning to realize just what had happened. He reached out and took the trembling hands. Then, he pulled Daniel back into his arms, by now he was sobbing openly, barely managing to speak. “I tried to keep them safe, Jack, but....the blood is everywhere....”

Jack knew he had to get his friend back out of the dream he was trapped in. “Danny, listen to me. There is no cabin! The cabin was years ago. You’re only dreaming of the cabin. You saved these children. They’re at the mission. Joe will keep them safe now.” He stroked the long light brown hair. “It’s all right, Danny. You did it. You saved these kids.” Jack reached up and pulled the blanket off the bed and down on top of them. A pillow came with it and he stuck it under his own head and shoulder, then pulled the blanket over both of them. He continued crooning, as if to a small child. “It’s okay, you’re safe, and the children are safe.”

Daniel looked up at him, trustingly. “Safe now?”

“Yeah, Danny, you’re safe now.” He continued to pet the fair head as it settled on his chest and shoulder. “Get some sleep now.”

Daniel lay there, quiescent for a while, but then spoke in an exhausted voice.”

“Jack?”

“Yeah, buddy.”

“The children....”

“It’s okay, Danny, all the children are safe now...you can go to sleep now.”

“Sleep?”

“Yeah, Danny...sleep.”

EPILOGUE

The next morning dawned early. The sun shown in brightly on the hard wooden floor where Jack O'Neill was sleeping on a thin pillow propped up against the wall. The weight on his chest shifted and moaned. Looking down, he watched the light brown head move, then peer around in confusion as if trying to get his bearings.

“Jack?”

He smiled to himself. That sounded like his Daniel. “Good morning.”

“Where?”

“Doc’s office.”

“Oh.” A pause. “Floor?”

“Your decision, not mine.”

Daniel started to sit up, then winced in pain clutching at his arm. O’Neill helped steady him and propped his friend up against the wall. Then Jack scooted over to sit next to him, also leaning back. He watched Daniel carefully.

Daniel seemed to accept his injury without question, but frowned when he saw the mark on Jack’s face. “Did I do that?”

O’Neill nodded.

“Sorry.”

“I know.” Jack looked his friend over closely. “What do you remember about the last few days?”

The other man frowned as he concentrated. “Cassie and I were at the mission talking to the two Tonkawa men. We thought that I might know their headman, so I decided to go to the village.” He paused.

Jack nodded for him to continue.

“We did. He recognized me right off.”

“From Wichita?”

Daniel continued, “We were sitting at the fire circle, talking about them coming in to the mission when we heard the riders. The chief told me to leave, asked me to take the little ones to safety.” Daniel shook his head. “I should have stayed.”

Jack looked at him then pressed him. “Why? So you could get killed too? And Cassie, and the little ones you did save?”

Daniel looked up at him wordlessly.

“Cause they would have, you know.” Jack continued on, pushing his advantage. “They would have killed all of you...you...the kids...Cassie, so you couldn’t tell who done it.” O’Neill looked at him sternly. “You couldn’t have done anything else but what you did.”

Daniel sighed and nodded. “Cassie and I got as many kids as we could and headed for the river. A few of them followed.”

“Who were they Daniel? How many?”

“I really don’t know.” He answered honestly, “It’s all jumbled in my head. Feather bolted, I tried to get Cassie up on old Pony, but she wouldn’t leave without the kids. So, she took off in the brush with them and I tried to stop them.” He looked at Jack. “Pony went down, and I got shot...I don’t remember much after that.”

Jack nodded; it was more than he had expected. “I went to the mission looking for you and Cassie. Joe told me where you’d gone. Young Bull came with me and we went to the village. After we got there, we tracked you to the river. I found where Pony fell and then we came up on Cassie.” He looked at Daniel. “You saved twenty-four young ones, Danny. You did good.”

“How many did I kill?”

“I don’t know exactly.” Jack said honestly. “Three or four for sure, but...well, they deserved it.”

The two friends sat there on the floor for a while longer, both lost in their thoughts. Finally, Daniel turned to Jack. “Why did they do it?”

“Who, the whites?” At the other man’s nod, Jack continued. “Fear, not knowing, and some for just meanness.” He shifted to a more comfortable position. “People are afraid what they don’t understand. They probably heard that the village was Tonkawa. To a lot of folks that means only one thing.”

Daniel looked at him. “They thought they were bad.”

Jack nodded again. “Yep, they were different. They had a different culture, different beliefs. Rumors, stories, they say one thing...truth is usually somewhere in between.” he shrugged. “Some folks hated them, some folks were scared of them, and some may have wanted revenge. But,” he looked at Daniel directly “nothing that happened was your fault or your doing. If you hadn’t been there, well, all those kids would have been killed too.”

“What’s going to happen to them now?”

“Now? Now, they’re at the mission. Joe will protect them, and the Anasazi will raise them. The kids will grow up knowing different things than their people would have taught them. Like you grew up knowing the Cherokee way, instead of what your white parents would have showed you.” Jack grew quiet.

“What?” Daniel looked at him.

“Danny, everyone is right by their own learning.” He shifted restlessly. “I was born to be a city man, but I grew up to be a farmer. Then I turned into a gun-hand, a Ranger, then a soldier and now a lawman. Every time I changed, I learned something more, something different.” He looked at the other man. “Look at yourself. You were born on the other side of the world in someplace called Egypt, but your Ma and Pa brought you to Texas. Instead of being an educated gentleman, you wound up being an Indian, a frontiersman, an interpreter and now you’re a deputy. Everybody changes according to the way their own life’s river flows. Those kids started out being heathen Tonkawas, now they’ll be raised Anasazi. They’ll be civilized, educated and converted. It’s not a bad thing, it’s not necessarily a good thing, it’s just the way it is.” He smiled at his friend. “But one thing is for certain. They’re still alive, and they only got one man to thank for that...and its you, Daniel Jackson. You did real good, and I’m proud to call you friend.”

Daniel dropped his eyes and blushed a little, then he looked around the doctor’s office as if contemplating something. “Jack?”

“Yeah, Daniel?”

“Can you help me get up off the floor? It’s getting kind of hard.”

“I surely can partner. I surely can.”

\-------

Later that day, Daniel, Jack and old Mike were sitting on the front porch of the Emerald City Saloon. Daniel had his injured leg propped up on a box, and his cat Gato was laying in his lap. Jack was leaning back in his rocking chair, but careful not to move because his pup Dollar was sleeping under it.

Various members of the small community had come by to say howdy to the wounded man. Cassie had come over with them but had to go back and help her mama. The Doctor had packed up the buckboard to go out to the mission with supplies for the children. Sam and Teal’c had gone with them just in case.

Miz Majel had brought Daniel a pair of crutches that she’d fashioned when she heard he was wounded. Miz Devra had come by to report that Brown Pony was doing well, if walking a little gimpy. The seamstress, Miz Jo had brought him a new pair of britches with buttons up the one side so he could get to his wound easier without shucking his pants every time. Miz Nicci had brought over a brand new woolen lap rug for him made out of the O’Neill tartan that she’d just got in. She’d offered to make the deputy a kilt so he wouldn’t have to wear the britches in the first place, but Daniel had refused politely, blushing an interesting shade of red at the idea of wearing a skirt.

Mike had sat and wondered at the parade of concerned citizens. “This is one of the friendliest towns I ever did see.” Mike commented after the mayor left from bringing out some iced tea to the three men.

“Yep,” Jack nodded. “Everyone here is real fond of Daniel. I thinks he’s done something for just about all of them, helping out here and there.”

Daniel just shook his head. “It’s easy to help nice people; I just really like it here.”

“Yep, I’d say you’ve found you a home here, Daniel.” Mike smiled at him. “And you too, Jack.”

“Well, you know what they say Mike.” Jack answered for the both of them. “Home is more than a place; it’s where your heart lays quiet after a long hard day.” He glanced over at his Daniel and the two men shared a smile.

“Jah,” Mike nodded. “Ein Tok’ra Flats, ist das lieben schoen.”

The End

 

The story of the Fate of the Tonkawa Indian tribe is true. In October of 1862, There were over one thousand members of that Tribe at the Wichita Agency. All but 150 of them, along with the white staff, were killed during the raid by the other tribes of northern sympathies. It was only one episode of the Civil War that occurred in the Indian Territories during this time of unrest.


End file.
